I Scratch Your Back, You Scellotape My Socks
by SugarSpiral
Summary: Set in during Adventure 01, after “Garurumon”. TK wants to prove to his brother that he is just a reliable as the other DigiDestined. Very mild practically invisible Mimato/Mikeru references. Twoshot. Fluff n/r .
1. Part 1

_All giggle-credit regarding socks (next chapter) __**must**__ be directed to nina-neko. She is a wonderful wonderful person._

**I Scratch Your Back, You Scellotape My Socks.  
**By _SugarSpiral._

Chapter One.

"Aww, Matt, come on!"

"No TK, you're too young! You need your _rest!"_

"Please… Matt-"

But Matt had stormed off again. TK's arms dropped limply to his sides. He was so grouchy today. He felt his mouth turn down at the corners, and his eyes began to smart. _I'm __**not**__ crying._ He thought vehemently to himself, plonking himself down on the sandy riverbank. _I'm not! Matt doesn't cry. Grown ups don't cry. If I was a grown up I'd be allowed to stay up and keep watch… It's not fair!_ Squeezing his eyes shut, TK's mind replayed the major events since he arrived in the DigiWorld.

Meeting his new best friend and Partner, Tokomon. Tokomon _Digivolved_ into Patamon, to save him from a big red bug with an anger problem. The trouble with Kuwagamon was over, he falls off a cliff- but is saved by Gomamon's friends, the Marching Fishes(1). Then his new friends discover some strange phone booths, but no one is able to call home. After that hope was shattered, they got attacked by _another _angry Digimon, this one seemed to think it was a hermit crab. But instead of pincers, this thing squirted out seawater, from it's head? Then the kid with the big hair –Tai- 's Digimon Digivolves _again_ into this huge dinosaur thingy, Greymon! After that, they saw another two Digimon that looked like rhinoceroses -Monochromon- fighting over territory. So they ran away… Then… then…

TK pushed the palms of his hands into his eyes now- he didn't want to think about last night. But somehow, he couldn't stop himself…

They'd needed to eat, so they'd caught fish and cooked it. They'd needed a place to stay, and they'd found the trolley cart. They'd needed a night watch, so the big kids had arranged it… And TK had been shoved into the trolley, with Mimi keeping watch on him. Like a baby, with no responsibility. TK pressed his eyes further back into his skull- he was _not_ going to cry! Then the island started moving and **bam!** There's another huge, angry Digimon. And this time, it's got _Matt!_

The boy shook his head. It'd been ok in the end. Gabumon- Matt's Partner, had Digivolved into this enormous silver-blue wolf: Garurumon. But TK couldn't help thinking that maybe, just _maybe_ if Matt hadn't been standing watch(2) it wouldn't have happened…

Not too far away, a pair of delicate brown eyebrows were creased together with concern. The girl with the oversized pink cowboy hat, otherwise known as Mimi Tachikawa, was worrying about the little blond haired boy. She'd never seen a kid look so miserable. For the past ten minutes, he'd been sat coiled up into the sand grimacing, hands balled up and pressed into his eye sockets like he wanted to go blind.

"Palmon…"

Her Digimon, chirpy as ever, smiled up from underneath pink petals "What's up?"

Just as she opened her mouth to voice her anxiety about the little kid, a new voice popped up behind her.

"Mimi? Could I talk to you..?" Turning around, the girl was surprised to see no one there. "Down here."

Glancing downward, Mimi sighed with relief. It was Patamon. She could never decide if he looked more like a giant mouse or a guinea pig- with wings. Well, whatever. He sure was cute.

"How can I help, Patamon?" Mimi smiled her best _how-can-I-help-you? _smile.

Patamon grinned in response, than shrank, as if disheartened. "It's…. it's TK." He peeked up at Mimi, wary. As if not sure whether he could talk to her. In the end, he must've decided she was trustworthy, because he started speaking again.

"I'm worried about him. He thinks Matt doesn't trust him, like he's just a bother all the time. It's making him sad. I think he blames himself for what happened last night. He may only be small, but he's got a big heart and a good sense of responsibility. When he finally went to sleep this morning, he was fidgeting, talking in his sleep. '_Let me help' _he said. _'I can help too'. _Things like that. He wants Matt to let him keep watch at night- he seems to think he's not doing any good." Patamon paused, breathless. It had all come out in a gush. He was about to continue, but Mimi raised a gloved finger.

"I understand Patamon, I've been worried too." Mimi smiled tentatively, "I've been watching him all morning. He seemed really sad after Matt stormed off."

Patamon visibly brightened. "See, that's it! That's what I was hoping you'd help me with. Maybe, if we could cheer TK up, he'd understand that it's not so bad being little. I'm little, but I'm happy!" Mimi felt her smile widen to a grin as the little guinea-pig-with-wings Digimon beamed up at her, "And maybe, maybe you could try calm Matt down when he gets back! Maybe, you could…"

Patamon bubbled on cheerfully, oblivious to the fact Mimi's blood had just frozen in her veins. _Talk to Matt?_ Mimi wasn't scared of the tall blond; she **wasn't**! He was just… he was just very stand-offish. It was almost rude. She didn't want to be the one trying to tell him how to act around his brother- she'd watched Tai try many times before. She was on the verge of saying no, when her gaze strayed over to where the youngest DigiDestined was sitting. Then, she knew, she'd just have to find away. It would be unforgivably horrid of her to let that Takashi kiddo suffer on, when she knew she could help.

**_To be continued..._**

(1) I notice that the fish raft has very little relevance to Gomamon's attack, _Marching Fishes._ But hey, Teeks is just a kid; he's confused…  
(2) Yeah yeah, I know Matt wasn't actually standing guard when Seadramon lifted his big ugly head (apologies to Seadramon/Michael fans), but like I said… He's young; he's allowed to get all muddled up!

Aha. So there you go.  
If you're wondering about the title, look out for the next (final) chapter of this twoshot 8)).

Reviews are magic x


	2. Part 2

Wow, well that got a lot more reviews than I'd hoped! Thanks guys 8))  
As promised, here is the second part for your enjoyment! Ok, a day or so late, but hey...

_All giggle-credit regarding socks (this chapter!) __**must**__ be directed to nina-neko. She is a wonderful wonderful person._

**I Scratch Your Back, You Scellotape My Socks.  
**By _SugarSpiral._

Chapter Two.

"Ok Patamon, you've got yourself a deal!"

The little orange-and-cream Digimon inflated with happiness. This girl sure was nice. "Thanks Mimi!"

"No problem. Now let's go see if we can cheer TK up!"

As the new-found best-buddies skipped off to comfort the little munch kin, two pairs of eyes gazed on from the hiding spots in the bushes. After watching the _Girl with the Stupid Hat_ pick up his brother and cuddle him into oblivion, the smoky blue eyes squeezed closed. Turning around, Matt wandered off into the shrubs, not noticing the deep green orbs following his every step. Fair enough, Palmon was in her element. If she didn't want to be seen, she had enough camouflage with the surrounding foliage to hide. Glancing back at her Partner, she decided it'd be best if she kept an eye on the angsty teen. Maybe she could cheer him up.

&

Y'know, why was not-crying such an effort? It didn't matter how hard he tried, _something_ had to go wrong. At least one part of his face had to _leak._ At this moment in time, TK's nose was running. _Great,_ he thought. _I'm going to look a real mess when Matt comes back… if he comes back… oh…_He sniffed viciously to deter the onslaught of mucus trickling steadily out of his nose. There was no beating the flow of snot. As much it disgusted him, TK knew he had no other choice. Slowly, he pulled the end of his sleeve down, so that it covered the entire back of his hand. Tentatively, he reached up to his face... anything to remove the horrible _drip, slide, drip... _He clenched his eyes tight shut...

A voice rang through the air, tone urgent.

"No! Don't!"

What?! TK's hand froze mid-air. His eyes flew open, but he couldn't see. Someone had seen what he was about to do! He felt the ashamed heat creep up his neck, and tears threatened once more. All he could do was hope Whoever-It-Was wouldn't shout too loud... And then he felt something soft brush against his nose. His vision focused, and suddenly everything was ok. The tall girl with the pink hat... Mimi, was holding out a handkerchief towards him. She was smiling. He wasn't in trouble.

"Here you go sweetheart, you can blow your nose on this."

TK gazed up at her, eyes wide. Was this some mean ol' trick? Was she making fun of him? TK wasn't usually a suspicious kid, but everything in the DigiWorld was so _weird..._ he didn't know who he could trust. He deliberated for a few more seconds, and eventually his practical nature won out. Because really, no one enjoys having _snot _ dribbling down their faces.

Once clean, TK realised he felt a _lot _better. "Thanks, Mimi."

The girl didn't reply, instead she looked away into the bushes. As if something was troubling her, but was afraid to offend... And our little golden-topped hero couldn't repress his inquisitive, helpful nature. After all, she _had_ saved him from Death-by-Mucus.

"Uhm... Miss, what's wrong? You look like something's upset you."

She was surprised. The little boy sure was insightful. She was just about to open her mouth to ask, when another helpful voice chirped up.

"Hey, TK!" Patamon made no effort to hide his glee, "Isn't Mimi helpful? I saw her give you that hankie, now you don't have a runny nose to worry about!"

TK didn't say anything, he just picked the little batpig up and gave him a huge hug. Mimi nearly aww'ed at the cuteness of it all, but then realised that would probably wound TK's dignity. So instead, she reconciled herself to admiring the close bond the two had formed in just over a day. It was quite remarkable. She was about to make a comment to Palmon about it... and then she noticed.

Where was her Partner?

&

Palmon had followed a certain angst-ridden teenager into the forest. He seemed to be quietly cussing to himself, and occasionally indulging in seemingly random violence. Kicking up leaves, punching trees, hurting his hands. The plant-like Digimon was intrigued. It had been less than two DigiDays since she'd even seen a human, but she was pretty sure that none of the other DigiDestined acted this way. She wondered what Matt was so angry about.

After a while, it seemed the fire in Matt's attitude had faded, just glowing ashes now. He looked lonely, sad. Palmon took a step closer and- _craaack._ The humans head jerked up at the sound of twigs being squished underfoot. _Oh well,_ she thought to herself,_ seeing as my cover's blown already..._

She stepped out from behind the purple bush which had served as a hiding place, bashfully avoiding the DigiDestined boy's stunned gaze. It didn't take long for him to break the silence.

"What are you doing here?" He was confused. Palmon was confused too. She had no idea why she was here, why she'd followed him... yes she did. Because Mimi needed her too. Because Mimi was looking after his little brother. Because TK was sad. Patamon had said so.

"There's something you need too see." Ok, so tact had never been Palmon's strong point. The Matt-boy raised an eyebrow at her. She fumbled around for words... Something told her mentioning his brother would not be a good idea. "Mimi needs to talk to you."

If Matt had been confused before, now... well, he couldn't even think of a word for it. But he was too tired to argue, and not at all sure if he could make it back by himself. Grudgingly, he got to his feet and followed the Walking-Talking-Flower back to the camp site.

&

"Wait."

Again, Matt didn't understand. They could _see_ the clearing from where they were standing. Only a row of particularly dense hedgerow was between them and the others. He was about to argue, when he saw what the Digimon was pointing at.

Almost directly across from him stood his brother, TK. _What is he **doing?**_That Mimi girl- Partner of the Walking-Talking-Flower- was with him too, and Patamon. His brother seemed to be giggling, as he hoisted up his shorts. Matt was beginning to seriously worry about his little brothers mental health, when he saw Mimi reach into the medical bag. _Oh god, is he **hurt?!**_ Matt's pulse race, and he was about to race out of the shrubs when he caught the conversation flowing in the wind.

"TK, are you _sure_ this will convince Matt you're more responsible?" That Mimi girl was talking. _Hang on, I thought she wanted to talk to me?_ "It seems kinda silly to me."

"Sure I'm sure, Mimi!" TK stuck his leg out at her, lifting his sock tight up. "I won't seem so much of a baby if I don't have to keep reaching down to pull my socks up!" Matt raised his eyebrow again. _It's official, my brother's crazy._ He watched on as the pretty girl cut off a length of surgical tape and handed it to Patamon, who carefully wrapped it around TK's legs. They'd almost completed both legs, when a shrill, distressed voice cut through the air.

"What are you _doing!?_ That tape is for _medical reasons!_ What are we going to do if someone gets _hurt?!"_

Matt rolled his eyes. Joe sure was a drama queen. Before the oldest DigiDestined could make too much of a fuss, Matt stepped out from his hiding place.

"Hey, cool it man. Mimi's just trying to make TK feel better." Joe shut up. Sounded stunned. Matt couldn't stop the slightly smug feeling from rising in his chest as he walked over to his brother. "How you doin', little bro?"

TK stuttered, he was being cautious. "I... I'm ok Matt." He dropped his shorts, in a vain attempt to hide the tape. "Me and Mimi were just... just..."

"Hey, no biggie." The taller blondes eyes shone with mischief. "What you and you _girlfriend_ do is no matter of mine."

Matt couldn't decide who's expression was funnier- TK or his _'girlfriend' 's_.

&

It was only later, when TK was asleep, did Matt get the chance to talk to the Cow Girl.

"Hey, Mimi." She wasn't expecting it, and he startled her when he began speaking without a prompt. Matt shrugged inwardly, maybe he should try socialize a little more.

"Yes Matt?" Her expression was soft, slightly confused. But also kind. Matt couldn't meet her eyes. A nervous blush rose.

"Thanks. For today. For taking care of TK." His voice was rough, demanding. But also husky, like he had a cold... like he was trying not to cry.

It was all too much. He turned on his heel, and headed to the other side of the clearing.

But he was still in earshot when Mimi whispered her reply.

"You're welcome."


End file.
